ZIP 98816 vs ZIP 98822

This side-by-side compares ZIP 98816 (Chelan, WA) and ZIP 98822 (Entiat, WA) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 98816 has a population of 6,394 at 6 people per square mile, while ZIP 98822 has 1,953 at 2 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 98816 reports a median household income of $82,577 against $86,103 in ZIP 98822, with per-capita income of $45,453 vs $40,631. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 28.3% in 98816 and 24.6% in 98822. Poverty rate reads 7.0% vs 6.7%, and unemployment 3.1% vs 5.0% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $499,200 in 98816 versus $383,600 in 98822, with median rent of $1,278 and $1,103 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 65.5% vs 83.4%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.